• Heritage Science

Sandstone, one of the most ubiquitous building materials around the globe and across time presents a complex range of characteristics and responses to environmental and physical erosion over time. The range of sandstone sub-types that have been used for structure and decorative carving through history was highly variable but is diminishing as a resource as more and more quarry sites are worked out or closed. This process has led to the use of ‘replacement’ stones in conservation work which are sourced from a small number of known sites and are similar to historic types in appearance if not age or internal characteristics. This project examines one of these replacement stones, Locharbriggs sandstone from Dumfries in Scotland, and couples it with two of the most commonly used silane consolidants in order to improve the understanding of the performance of both in lab and field conditions. The project begins by taking observations on site at Kenilworth Castle (Warwickshire, UK) shaping the research through the identification of areas of concern for the conservation of historic sites, such as erosion driven by visitor footfall and the effects of prior treatment applications. These are used to formulate an experimental programme which combines lab and field experiments, and begins with the development of a method for artificially weathering the stone substrate using the controlled application of heat, in preparation for consolidation. The field-based experimental work, hosted at the Wytham Woods research site near Oxford UK, examines the uses and limitations of two forms of field trial; the exposure of laboratory-prepared stone samples on a purpose-built exposure rack, and the incorporation of stone samples of variable size and treatment within a purpose-built test structure. Both experiments trial a range of assessment metrics for the detection and monitoring of consolidants applied to the samples, within the context of exposure to local weather conditions. In addition to these experiments, a further trial was hosted by SATRA Technologies (Kettering, UK) which utilises a mechanical prosthetic leg to simulate physical abrasion analogous to that observed on site, modelling the type of wear driven by footfall across exposed stone surfaces. These experiments trial the use of a range of systems for the assessment of stone condition and consolidant performance, combining those which are understood in other heritage contexts with the novel combination of handheld optical and laser scanners for the detection of change on samples. These are formalised into a ‘toolkit’ of methods and instruments that can be applied to sandstone- consolidant experiments, including novel methods of visualising and analysing data. The thesis concludes that the range of assessment techniques trialled here have a range of useful applications in the detection of consolidants in heritage sandstone and for the detection of change on site and in laboratory conditions, and that there is significant scope to employ them in a range of conservation applications.

Earthen sites form a key part of our heritage: providing us with evidence for past civilisations, acting as a focal point for community identity and forming aesthetically pleasing buildings and structures. These sites are found on every continent but are concentrated in dryland regions, such as across northwest China and central Asia. Due to the low durability of earthen materials, many earthen heritage sites exposed to harsh dryland environments are experiencing extensive deterioration. If we are to pass on these sites to future generations, we need to understand how earthen heritage sites are impacted by environmental drivers of deterioration and how the risk of deterioration could be minimised. To address this challenge, this thesis determines the likely impacts of the main environmental drivers of earthen heritage deterioration under current and future conditions in dryland regions. The research presented in this thesis examines the impact of wind and rain as drivers of deterioration at Suoyang Ancient City. Suoyang is an archaeological city built out of rammed earth in the Han (206 BC–220 AD) and Tang (618 – 907 AD) dynasties and is located in Gansu Province, northwest China, on the ancient Silk Road. It exhibits a range of deterioration features from the detachment of surface material to wall slumps and collapses. In 2015, an experimental area was established at the site, which includes several test walls. This thesis uses a combined fieldwork-modelling approach. A controlled field experiment was used to investigate the deteriorative impact of key individual environmental processes on earthen structures. Geomorphological signatures were used to assess the relative importance of wind and rain as drivers of deterioration. These field results were used to develop and parameterise the Vegetation and Sediment TrAnsport model for Heritage Deterioration (ViSTA-HD), a cellular automaton model that spatially resolves the risk of environmental driven deterioration across earthen heritage wall faces. ViSTAHD was used to test the impact of future climatic and conservation scenarios on the risk of earthen heritage deterioration. Findings showed that even though individual wind events are of low magnitude, their high frequency occurrence results in a significant cumulative impact of wind-driven deterioration under both current and potential future conditions. Increasing natural vegetation cover was found to minimise the risk of deterioration under a range of climatic scenarios. Given the similarities in material properties, history and location of Suoyang to other earthen heritage sites in Northwest China and central Asia, findings in this thesis can be applied to many other earthen sites in these regions.

WP10 is currently carrying out dissemination and communication activities, based on a participatory and inclusive approach and tailored dissemination strategies to communities of users and stakeholders (through workshops, roundtables, conferences, symposia or open days), in order to assure a presentation of E-RIHS to citizens, researchers, investors, private and public bodies, institutions, academic universities or research centres. Digital (website; sets of digital content and hardware to be used at events) and physical (posters, templates for presentations, flyers, leaflets, press releases) channels of communication are being tested in a dialogue with national E-RIHS representatives and National Hubs as well as with users. The domain www.e-rihs.eu is the main managing, communication and dissemination platform. The website provides links to E-RIHS social media profiles and national hubs websites. A further step being carried out in the framework of T10.3 is to include a Digital Hub for Research and Cooperation in Heritage Science, acting as an access point for information, services, good practices, training and virtual meetings for stakeholders to discuss topics of interest. It will link to related initiatives, such as http://heritageportal.eu/. In order to reach this goal, a call for tender was launched by CNR, task leader of T10.3, for the design and development of a semantic cloud service, SCHEME (Semantic Content retrieval engine for the Heritage hub Empowerment), composed of two functionalities: a semantic web tool and a collaboration platform. By using semantic technologies, SCHEME intends to provide a selection of content automatically taken from the web and filtered in order to present only the information related to the main themes of E-RIHS. It will be useful to gather external data and optimize content and it will offer a social media analysis platform, to search for relevant posts and identify most used concepts, hashtags, web pages and sites cited in social discussions, geographical location of users, influencers, etc. By creating a collaboration platform, called the Heritage Hub, E-RIHS will have an easy-to-use but powerful collaboration platform able to act as an access point for information, services, good practices, training and virtual meetings for researchers, users, stakeholders to discuss topics of interest.

In the field of cultural heritage several constraints about coatings to be applied have gradually been better focused over the years. Along with the need to consider aesthetics and reversibility of the restoration treatments, it is nowadays well recognised that patinas and/or original historical coatings and finishes should be considered and can play an important role in protective treatments behaviour. Nonetheless no standard methods have been drafted to test new coatings which can be effectively matched with application on artworks. We briefly review and compare choices for copper and copper alloys coupons which can be considered as similar as possible to the metal artifacts the treatment is tested for. Some case studies is be presented to summarise the state of the art of NdT testing in this field and suggest possible developments.

Iniziativa social di Istituto #ISPConAIR effettuato il 25-26 giugno 2020 sulla piattaforma Zoom. Attualmente riproducibile sul canale YouTube ISPC. Webinar nel quale si vogliono raccontare al pubblico le metodologie della geofisica che permettono di investigare il sottosuolo, di localizzare e caratterizzare resti di strutture, per conoscere, valorizzare e proteggere il patrimonio archeologico ed architettonico. Nel corso di questo webinar si parlerà di geofisica applicata al patrimonio culturale insieme ai ricercatori delle sedi di Lecce, Roma, Catania e Napoli dell'ISPC ed un special guest universitario. La geofisica per il patrimonio culturale è oggi principalmente rivolta alla soluzione di problemi che richiedono una chiara ricostruzione della geometria e delle caratteristiche fisiche dei beni culturali sepolti e del contesto geologico, ambientale e paleo-ambientale anche ai fini della tutela e della gestione del patrimonio. In questo ambito, la ricerca in ISPC è orientata agli sviluppi strumentali e metodologici per applicazioni in ambiente terrestre ed acquatico, con riferimento all'integrazione multi-disciplinare e all'utilizzo delle tecniche di machine learning per l'analisi e l'interpretazione dei dati geofisici. Le attività di ricerca si svolgono in collaborazione con enti ed istituzioni esterne, come Soprintendenze Archeologiche, Università nazionali e straniere ed Enti locali. Vedremo quali sono le potenzialità ed i limiti dei diversi metodi di prospezione e come lo sviluppo di opportune metodologie di integrazione possono aumentare l'efficacia del loro impiego e ridurre l'incertezza nell'interpretazione. Scopriremo che ruolo la geofisica applicata ha avuto nell'ambito di progetti di monitoraggio e caratterizzazione del Patrimonio Culturale attraverso esempi di studio svolti in Italia e all'estero. Il programma é disponibile al seguente link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lf7aI_RHsh8s2pYCcQWl8ZW1-nnI3e86/view L'evento qui: https://www.eventbrite.it/e/biglietti-rendere-visibile-linvisibile-attraverso-i-metodi-geofisici-110245571472#

Iniziativa social di Istituto #ISPConAIR effettuato il 28-29 maggio 2020 sulla piattaforma Zoom. Attualmente riproducibile sul canale YouTube ISPC. Durante questo webinar si parlerà di diagnostica non invasiva per la conoscenza e la conservazione del Patrimonio Culturale. A farvi compagnia ci saranno alcuni ricercatori delle sedi di Catania, Roma, Firenze e Milano dell'ISPC. Spinti dalla necessità di studiare opere d'arte uniche ed insostituibili senza comprometterne l'integrità - materica ed intellettuale - negli ultimi decenni si sono intrapresi sforzi per sviluppare strumenti e metodologie analitiche non invasive che, utilizzate in modo integrato, possano fornire informazioni chimiche dettagliate dei materiali costitutivi del Patrimonio Culturale, siano essi originali, di restauro o di degrado. Inoltre, gran parte del Patrimonio è costituito da oggetti immobili che non possono essere spostati e, anche nel caso di beni mobili, costi e rischi ne impediscono lo spostamento nei laboratori scientifici. Per tali motivi, gli scienziati si sono orientati verso la progettazione e messa a punto di strumenti portatili che siano in grado di raggiungere l'oggetto laddove è conservato. In questo webinar proporremo una carrellata di esempi, dove tecniche analitiche all'avanguardia - single spot e di imaging - basate su diversi tipi di radiazione (dalle particelle cariche ai raggi X, dalla luce visibile alla luce infrarossa, fino alle microonde) sono stati impiegate in modo non invasivo e in assetto portatile per lo studio di diverse tipologie di oggetti del Patrimonio Culturale. Tali applicazioni hanno permesso una fruttuosa collaborazione interdisciplinare con archeologi, storici dell'arte, conservatori e curatori per studiare la materialità del Patrimonio Culturale e monitorarne e valutarne lo stato conservativo anche al fine di delineare nuove strategie conservative e di esposizione. Le competenze e le strumentazioni del CNR in questo ambito contribuiscono alla piattaforma MOLAB attiva nel progetto IPERION HS (http://www.iperionhs.eu/), in cui si offre accesso a sistema integrato di strumentazioni portatili non invasive per ricerche nell'ambito dell'Heritage Science. Il programma dell'evento è scaricabile qui: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ofm9oFJ3jChhQ86aCwoZqJKl1nQGD93l/view?usp=sharing Per l'evento qui: https://www.eventbrite.it/e/registrazione-cnr-ispc-on-air-le-scienze-del-patrimonio-culturale-come-il-digitale-aiuta-lo-studio-la-104337097066

Lower plants and organisms growing on cultural heritage sites have been identified as key sources of biodeterioration and degradation of the underlying substrates. Within this field, bryophytes (mosses) have been relatively under-researched and the effects of their growth on heritage sites is comparatively unknown. The main aim of this thesis is to characterize the impacts of moss growth on historic limestone masonry, and to determine if their presence on built structures can be categorized as having either an overall bioprotective or biodeteriorative effect on built structures. This thesis addresses the objectives and three primary research questions related to the perceptions of moss growth, visualizing the moss-lithobiontic interface, and moss impacts on moisture regimes using a mixed- methods approach involving field and lab analyses. To address the first objective, it provides a qualitative exploratory survey of built heritage experts and visitors about their perceptions of moss growth on cultural heritage. To address the second objective, the thesis develops a workflow to visualize the impacts of moss on limestone. To address the third objective the thesis uses a range of field and lab-based analyses to investigate the impacts of moss on water regimes on limestone and mortar surfaces. It uses both weathered laboratory samples of limestone and in-situ limestone walls and cementitious mortar to evaluate moss impacts under a range of conditions. The project is based on research at several built heritage sites in Oxfordshire, England, including the UNESCO World Heritage site Blenheim Palace, Kelmscott Manor, and Oxford Botanic Gardens. It investigates the of impact one of the world’s most common mosses, Brachythecium rutabulum on a variety of wall structures at these built heritage sites, and on some experimental limestone blocks with known colonisation histories. Key findings from this project uncover both aesthetic and tangible impacts of moss colonisation on built heritage. Findings from the survey showed that both visitors and built heritage experts like the aesthetic qualities of mosses on historic stonework, and feel that removal of moss should only occur if clear biodeteriorative impacts are found. The survey also highlighted the need for further research on how mosses affect the underlying materials. The thesis also explored a possible workflow method for utilizing weathered samples from cultural heritage sites, and found visual evidence of mosses acting as secondary colonisers within lichen perithecial pits. Key scientific findings from this project are that mosses play a role in increasing both surface and subsurface water absorption and uptake, and that removing mosses from weathered surfaces may be more damaging than leaving them in-situ. Additional findings are that mosses may play a role in ’shielding’ underlying substrates from light rainfall events. The evaluated findings show initial evidence that in most cases, moss growth is not an indicator of serious damage, and in some cases is neutral or even protective. The research project has contributed to advancing the knowledge of moss impacts on cultural heritage, and in creating a set of methods and protocols for investigating the moss-rock interface. The findings also have implications for conservation decisions regarding the cleaning and maintenance of mosses on cultural heritage.

We are assisting today to the increased need of web-based Integrated solutions in and for Cultural Heritage. This presentation will offer a national overview on the different activities in the field of Cultural Heritage that are increasingly requiring the use of the network, from the design of interactive media to field acquisition (i.e. in archaeological sites), from data analysis and simulation to 3d model semantic annotation, from collaboration in virtual environments to web3d applications for museums and monuments. Example of recent tools, services and applications will be provided (as for Aton, Emviq, 3D Hop and Movida). The challenges and potentialities offered by infrastructural projects such as ERIHS will be set as the turning point that will lead, in the next decade, to new Data Spaces, CH research National Cloud and CH Italian digital library.